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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mine — for digging
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — a video
  6. deal — to handle
  7. can — to be able to
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — a trail
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. can — a tin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. game — a match
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com